Aquincunx (/ˈkwɪn.kʌŋks/ KWIN-kunks) is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a squareorrectangle and a fifth at its center.[1] The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" or "in cross" in heraldry (depending on the orientation of the outer square), the five-point stencilinnumerical analysis, and the five dots tattoo. It forms the arrangement of five units in the pattern corresponding to the five-spot on six-sided dice, playing cards, and dominoes. It is represented in UnicodeasU+2059 ⁙ FIVE DOT PUNCTUATION or (for the die pattern) U+2684 ⚄ DIE FACE-5.
The quincunx was originally a coin issued by the Roman Republic c. 211–200 BC, whose value was five twelfths (quinque and uncia) of an as, the Roman standard bronze coin. On the Roman quincunx coins, the value was sometimes indicated by a pattern of five dots or pellets. However, these dots were not always arranged in a quincunx pattern.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates the first appearances of the Latin word in English as 1545 and 1574 ("in the sense 'five-twelfths of a pound or as'"; i.e. 100 old pence). The first citation for a geometric meaning, as "a pattern used for planting trees", dates from 1606. The OED also cites a 1647 reference to the German astronomer Kepler for an astronomical/astrological meaning, an angle of 5/12 of a whole circle. When used to describe a tree-planting pattern, the same word can also refer to groups of more than five trees, arranged in a square grid but aligned diagonally to the dimensions of the surrounding plot of land; however, this article considers only five-point patterns and not their extension to larger square grids.
Quincunx patterns occur in many contexts:
Various literary works use or refer to the quincunx pattern:
The engines were arranged across the base of the stage in the same pattern as the dots on a number 5 domino.
the most dominant formal element expressing this state of multiplicity in The Avignon Quintet is its quincunx structure.